Asia and India Luxury Tailor Made Holidays

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Extraordinary journeys for extraordinary people

No Two Journeys Have Ever Been The Same

We are the only exclusive tailor made safari company in Europe that is entirely owned and staffed by people who have spent their lives being brought up in Africa and Asia. We know, watch and understand the seasons and the effect that these have on the movement of wildlife– something which cannot be gleaned on a 2-week research trip to a country. We specialise in providing only the very best in unique, bespoke safaris and holidays to Asia, whether for a couple, family or larger group of friends.

New and Amazing Journeys of a Lifetime

Now and again, something really special comes along that is a one off or only available for a very limited time. We are delighted to share with you here, a truly unique selection of some new and extraordinary ‘Journeys of a Lifetime’ across Africa, Asia, Latin America and The Polar Regions.

Kaafila Central India Culture & Wilderness

A private, Royal mobile tented camp set up just for you and your party with the most knowledgeable guides in the most inaccessible regions of India

Private Snow Leopard Treks in Ladakh

To go looking for the Snow Leopard would appear to be the most forlorn of forlorn quests and yet, it is in the nature of such quests that the rewards lie as much in the journeying and the search as in the stated objective.

Family Holidays

Inspirational family holidays to Asia and India

Inspirational holiday ideas for Asia and India

At The Explorations Company, we like to offer our clients the opportunity of getting under the skin of a country, which is why the guides we choose are so important as they bring the region and its people to life. Choose some of our inspirational ideas to incorporate in your tailored holiday of a lifetime.

Tiger Safaris & India Wildlife Holidays

Our tiger safaris, snow leopard safaris and wildlife holidays to India are expertly tailored by one of India’s top naturalists – be it a luxury safari through the heart of tiger country, or a specialist exploration of wildlife in the remote borderlands, and everything in between.

Himalayan Walking Holidays in India

Houseboats and luxury cruises in India and Burma

This is a wonderful way to explore the region in total comfort. From private houseboats along the backwaters of Kerala which one can take for a night or two, to twelve berth ships along the Ganges in Bengal and the Brahmaputra River in Assam.

Trekking and walking holidays in Nepal & Bhutan

Wildlife Holidays in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka offers some magnificent wildlife experiences, from leopard and elephant to buffalo, bear and deer in Yala National Park. The birdwatching is fantastic year round with large flocks of both indigenous and migratory species.

Camel Trekking Holidays in the Desert in India

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands & Maldives

Scuba Diving, snorkeling and big game or sports fishing. The accommodation couldn't be more different, with the Andaman Islands offering a more eco lodge experience with the most amazing beaches and the Maldives with five star luxury lodges and resorts.

Festivals in India and Bhutan

Many of our clients like to time their holidays to India and Bhutan to coincide with one of the festivals. These are wonderful occasions, so colourful, with arrays of flowers, great gaiety, music and dancing.

Horse Riding Holidays in India

We offer some exceptional riding safaris in both Rajasthan and in Assam – ranging from day rides out of charming heritage homes, palaces and wilderness camps to 2 week long safaris that include a fascinating cross-section of Rajasthan.

Luxury Spa and Yoga Holidays in India

There are two specific retreats that we use – namely Ananda in the Himalayas, which has been voted the top spa in the world and is in the most gorgeous setting, and Shreyas near Bangalore in South India.

Fishing for Mahseer - India

We offer some amazing Mahseer Fishing in the Himalayas in India - both on the fly and for the angler. Fish on the Saryu River (suitable for anglers and fly fishermen) whereas the Ramganga is most suitable for fly fishing. Accommodation is in a tented camp or a combination float trip.

Luxury Train Travel in India

Welcome to the world of luxury train travel in India, where pampered guests can drink in scenes of daily life from a cocoon of comfort. In India the rail network is an essential part of life. The second-largest system in the world, stretching nearly 64,000km.

Holidays incorporating our charities

We support several charities at The Explorations Company, including Dr Graham’s Homes in Kalimpong, and an orphanage on the outskirts of Bangalore. We are also one of the founder members of TOFT (Tour Operators for Tigers).

Exclusive and Special Holiday Moments

No Words Just Pictures

Accommodation Styles

Where would you like to stay on your luxury holiday in Asia? In a remote but sumptuously restored Rajput fort? Or a desert safari camp redolent of the luxurious hunting camps of the Raj? An opulent palace on one of our vacations in Rajasthan? Perhaps a simple beach house or luxury villa in Goa, or a mountain lodge overlooking Nanda Devi in the Himalayas? A luxury safari camp in Madhya Pradesh?

Colonial or small characterful hotels, tea plantations, havellis

These dreamy little hotels today belong to the descendants of those who lived here in the colonial era, who are your highly affable, energetic and involved hosts.

Owner Managed Retreats (India)

Tented camps and luxury safari lodges

The subcontinent has a wide range of wildlife camps – from intimate, owner-managed camps to luxury lodges. The owner-managed camps are intimate and are set in magnificent locations either overlooking a river or the forest.

Royal Tented Luxury Lodges

These small, often luxurious boutique style camps are found all over Rajasthan - from the Thar desert, to Nimaj, overlooking a lake, to outside the tiger reserves in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and occupying locations on the outskirts of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Jaipur.

Houseboats and luxury cruises

A trip to South India is incomplete without a journey on a traditional house boat. Locally known as kettuvallam, these traditional rice barges are made by tying jackwood planks together with coir rope and then coating them with black resin made from boiled cashew nut shells.

Design Inspired, Luxury Boutique Hotels

Luxury trains in India

Welcome to the world of luxury train travel in India, where pampered guests can drink in scenes of daily life from a cocoon of comfort. In India, the rail network is an essential part of life. The second-largest system in the world, stretching nearly 64,000km, it could be wrapped twice around the Earth.

Private Villas and Houses

Goa and Kerala are best known for some of the country's finest beaches. The Dutch and Portuguese both left their mark on these coastal towns, which means you will find charming properties from simple, private houses right on the beach that one takes over exclusively, to sumptuous villas. Sri Lanka has a wealth of beautiful, colonial style villas on the coast and beautiful houses in the tea plantation regions.

Nepal Accommodation Style

Sri Lanka Accommodation Style

Sri Lanka is a country that has effortlessly preserved its wealth of colonial houses and converted these into the most stunning and stylish boutique hotels, homestays, country retreats and seaside villas. It has also built itself some exceptional modern examples.

Borneo Accommodation Style

Borneo is one of the ultimate diving and snorkeling destinations in the world. These resorts are often wonderfully isolated and many have turtle nesting sites that you can observe in carefully controlled night watches.

Burma (Myanmar) Accommodation Style

There is an array of accommodation to choose from in Myanmar. The majority of choice is for larger hotels but as tourism develops there are an increasing number of smaller, more boutique style places and those with a difference that go that extra mile.

Extraordinary Occasions

When we reach certain milestones or have special occasions to celebrate, we occasionally search for places that we have yearned to visit in which to mark such a momentous event. We have arranged parties, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and family reunions for many of our clients in Africa, Asia, Latin America and The Polar Regions

10 steps to the perfect holiday

We want you to have the perfect holiday and whilst we will ask you all the right questions to ensure that we understand exactly what you are looking for, the list of questions below might assist you in your decisions for the ultimate tailor made holiday to Asia.

When to Go

The following is simply a guide and we would urge you to contact us to discuss in detail the months in which you intend to travel to Africa, as well as where to, because each country, and in turn, each area, comes into its own at certain times of year.

View our showreel

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from
the safe harbour and catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore – Dream – Discover
- Mark Twain -
You can view clips of some of our own favourite discoveries here.

Client testimonials

The holiday was so enjoyable – lots to chat about. Tikli Bottom is a gem and we were the only guests for our short stay. We loved it there – peaceful and luxurious, and the staff were a delight – especially the cook!

Amit was always there to take us under his wing – a real treasure, making sure we were being well looked after at every stage of our holiday, Thank you for planning another successful holiday for us and we are thinking of travelling to Africa, so you will receive a call soon.

Holiday to India

What an absolutely wonderful time we had in India. Your planning was perfection. Our favourites were Siana (you told us that!) and Kanker Palace…both families were wonderful in totally different ways. Welcomed with open arms we felt as though we were indeed royalty ourselves!

There was not a single glitch, not a missed or late plane, train or car, no mishaps. The best food was in the homestays in Siana, Kanker and Kutty’s Farm and little out of the way places our driver in Kerala found for us.

Holiday to India

Just a line to thank you for arranging such a fantastic trip to India for us. It was the experience of a lifetime which we will relive as we sort out our 1000 or so photos! Thank you again. P.S. We saw 4 tigers!

A holiday to India - tiger safari

The trip was a huge success and we saw our Tiger in Chitwan, a long relaxed sighting, sitting in the undergrowth washing his face, quite unperturbed by us.

The weather closed in after that including the most spectacular storm I have ever witnessed, dashed out of the tent (4.30 am) and filmed at least 20 minutes worth. It was right overhead, the lightening was crackling as the thunder crashed so loudly that I could not stop myself jumping.

A holiday to Nepal

I did just want to drop you a note to thank you and your team for looking after us so well over the past couple of weeks.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and everything ran very smoothly during our stay which certainly contributed to our enjoyment. It makes a real difference to know that all the arrangements have been dealt with and that you can enjoy the holiday with the minimum of hassle. Ramesh, our driver deserves to be singled out for special mention. He certainly went above & beyond to ensure that all our needs were anticipated.

Holiday to India

Thanks for organizing our Nepal Trip – everything was wonderful. I soon realized why we had to go on these dates as GUN was an excellent guide and naturalist, I don’t know what we would have done without his assistance.

All the camps were excellent, especially Karnali Tented Camp – what a position. I took microlight flights at Pokhara the view of the mountains was spectacular, you should try it next time you get there. Look forward to meeting up.

A holiday to Nepal

Just to say thank you for arranging such a wonderful holiday for us. It has been a fascinating experience. Everything worked perfectly and I can say that you gave us more than what you promised on the tin! We will definitely return and will be in touch.

A holiday to Borneo

The trip was overwhelmingly successful in all respects for every one of us. It was a trip of a lifetime and certainly one that will be in our memories forever.

The experiences and adventures in each place was made all that much better with the guides we had especially in Varanasi and in Ranthambore. I didn't realize that there would be a separate tour representative in addition to the guide in each city so that was an unexpected treat and a very helpful one.

A holiday to India - Rajasthan and wildlife

I just wanted to thank you so much for organising an absolutely amazing trip. We both loved it all and cannot wait to get back to India.

Prerna could not have taken more trouble to ensure that we had a smooth trip and ironed out the small glitches seamlessly and always with efficiency and good humour. We had three absolutely spectacular guides, at the Taj Mahal, in Jodpur and of course in Udaipur . Again, thank you for all that you did to make our trip so special.

A holiday to Rajasthan

The kids loved Dubai but then when we reached Maldives - Banyan Tree was absolutely marvellous. The spa was fabulous , one of the best massages we have ever had.

Then Kerala : very beautiful. The ride from Trivandrum was quite something!! Purity was lovely. The house , rooms , grounds very nice . We all enjoyed the day on the boat very much. That was a highlight! Cochin was very nice and the driver and the guide were fantastic. Overall we are more than very satisfied with the service and the organization.

Family Holiday to India and Maldives

Words cannot even begin to describe how amazing the trip was. First of all, the arrangements you made went perfectly. We were picked up and dropped off at every city without any glitches.

The people were always so kind and friendly and I cannot believe how well we were treated.My husband was so impressed by how smoothly everything ran, and by how we were never left at any stop. My eldest, Olivia, said this was one of her favorite trips. Please keep in touch and we would not hesitate in asking you to help us plan our next adventure.

Family wildlife holiday to India

Thank you for arranging a faultless and memorable holiday in Bhutan. Having travelled quite a lot elsewhere, I can’t think of any holidays where the pluses so greatly exceeded the minuses.

Excellent weather so that the sun shone on the splendid scenery. Exemplary guide and driver. Without the latter, my heart would have been in my mouth for most of the time we were being driven. I could go on with the many others things I enjoyed, but the “blessing” was completely unexpected and rather touching.

A Holiday to Bhutan

Thanks so much for arranging a holiday which ticked all of the boxes, and which I think did feel appropriately special to my father given the occasion. Very memorable indeed.

The Aman Hotels are amazing. I’ve never been anywhere before which achieved such a good balance between being luxurious and casual – which makes them very comfortable indeed. Great food. I celebrated my birthday in Gangtey and was made to feel really special.

A holiday to Bhutan

We had such a wonderful time in India, from the moment we landed in Mumbai we were captivated by the sights and smells.

Fantastic room at the Taj and waking up to the Gates of India was just magical. All the transport arrangements worked perfectly. We had great fun on the train back to Mumbai and ate the train food which was pretty good, had a cabin to ourselves and survived the loos. So thrilled to have finally done a real Indian train journey and not the Palace on wheels!

Safari in India

I'm home safe and sound and finally adjusting to my time zone. Thank you SO much for the bottle of wine in Kathmandu and the gorgeous flowers that arrived today. How very thoughtful. No other tour company has ever done something like this before!

Once I have organised photos I will send you a link. I very much enjoyed myself and met some wonderful people along the way. Thank you again. I would be delighted to use you and your company in the future and would have no hesitation in recommending your company to others.

Holiday to India and Nepal

Private Travel

We have so many requests these days for a family or group of friends to have exclusivity and privacy. This can mean private villas, private houses, a luxury, private, yacht or boat in the Maldives or India, or taking over a havelli, a luxury tented camp in the jungle, a basic, rustic camp in the Himalayas in the mountains or in the jungle, or commandeering a boutique lodge in Sri Lanka.

Premium Service

In addition to our Private Travel, we also offer a Premium Service for all of our clients. We have introduced this in response to our client’s demands. The service is multi-faceted, completely flexible and designed to run as an additional layer to our highly bespoke safaris and holidays.

Latest News

Following a recent amazing journey through Ladakh, we visited the beautiful valley of Kashmir. Unfortunately none of the airlines are operating direct flights from Leh to Srinagar and therefore I had to travel via Jammu which is just a 40 minute flight. We literally took off and in about 20 minutes started our decent over the Zabarvan Mountains to land at Srinagar. You do have to go through lots of security checks at the airports at Leh, Jammu and Srinagar so do factor in sufficient time if you have to catch a flight.

I recently enjoyed one of the best family holidays ever – to Ladakh in the northern part of India close to the snow-capped mountains near Kashmir. As a family we are very seasoned travellers and quite adventurous, however the closer our departure date loomed the more conscious and nervous we got particularly as we were now travelling with a 5 year old for the very first time. The suitability of this new journey and the likely standard of the accommodation along the way were high on our list. Would everything really be suitable for families with young children?

Historically, Ladakh as a region encompasses a patchwork of several inspiring landscapes. However contemporary Ladakh borders Tibet to the east, the Lahaul and Spiti to the south, the Vale of Kashmir regions to the west and the trans-Kunlun territory of Xingjian to the far north. Ladakh’s USP is its remote mountain beauty and culture.

Deep in the Bay of Bengal about 1000km from the east India coast lies the most remote Indian state of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The area is renowned for exquisite beaches, rainforest covered islands and outstanding scuba diving and snorkelling on the pristine reefs filled with wonderful marine life. As a destination the islands are still relatively undiscovered by the masses and therefore certainly worth the effort to get there.

Jamtara Wilderness Camp is the only camp located at the northern entrance to Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh and this is just one advantage of this superb camp. It is the creation of a truly passionate wildlife enthusiast, Amit Sankhala, who has himself spent a vast amount of time in the Indian jungle.

Staying at establishments which are owner managed is becoming increasingly popular, allowing one to experience the subcontinent in a far better way. An owner managed retreat or a home stay is similar in concept to that of a bed and breakfast.